The Sea Empowerment and Research Center (SEREC) has said that structural deficiencies in road haulage, port evacuation, inland connectivity, and cargo aggregation and consolidation will continue to inflate trade costs and weaken Nigerian shippers’ competitiveness within the $3.4 trillion African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, the Head of Research at SEREC, Eugene Nweke explained that though Nigeria’s accession to AfCFTA represents one of the most significant economic integration opportunities in the nation’s modern history, trade agreements do not move cargo, logistics systems do.

According to Nweke, “Recent data confirms that AfCFTA momentum is real. Nigeria’s share of intra-African trade surged from USD 8.1 billion in 2023 to USD 18.43 billion in 2024, representing an increase of over 127 percent, and accounting for approximately 8.3 percent of total intra-African trade.

“At the continental level, total intra-African trade expanded by 12.4 percent to approximately USD 220.3 billion in 2024.

“Furthermore, Nigeria’s exports to African markets grew by 14 percent in the first half of 2025, reaching about #4.82 trillion (USD 3.3 billion).

“Yet, despite this growth trajectory, Nigeria remains logistically under-prepared to fully capitalize on AfCFTA. Structural deficiencies in road haulage, port evacuation, inland connectivity, and most critically, cargo aggregation and consolidation, continue to inflate trade costs and weaken Nigerian shippers’ competitiveness within Africa.

“This paradox, rising trade opportunity constrained by weak logistics demonstrates that cargo consolidation is a missing, but decisive policy leveler required to translate AfCFTA aspirations into practical trade outcomes.”

On the way forward, the SEREC Research Chief explained that: “Cargo consolidation, which is the aggregation of smaller shipments into larger, cost-efficient freight units, is globally recognized as a foundational mechanism for trade competitiveness, particularly in emerging economies dominated by SMEs.

 

“This is especially relevant in the Nigerian context, where AfCFTA trade flows are largely characterized by small and medium consignments, agricultural produce and light manufacturing, and informal and semi-formal exporters.

“Despite Nigeria’s logistics and freight forwarding market being valued at approximately USD 6.47 billion in 2025, and its air freight market alone valued at about USD 8.18 billion, the absence of structured consolidation systems means that this market value does not translate into competitive export logistics.

“Without consolidation, Nigerian exporters face higher per-unit freight costs, irregular sailings and flight schedules, indirect routing through non-African hubs, and loss of delivery-time competitiveness.

“In a continental market that now exceeds USD 220 billion in intra-African trade, failure to institutionalize consolidation amounts to a strategic disadvantage, not merely an operational inefficiency.”

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